Karubecue

I have had several of you asking what a Karubecue pit is so I am posting some pics. Basically, it is pit master for morons i.e. me. The firebox is on top of the unit where you keep a fire burning constantly. It also has a controller box that is on the top of the pit as well. The controller has a temp control with a probe that is on the underside of the controller box inside the pit. There are two fans on the underside of the controller one of which is constantly going acting as a convection fan. The other fan is activated when the temp inside the box drops below the set temp and it produces a vacuum that draws from the firebox, under the fire, inverting the flame and pulling clean blue almost invisible smoke into the chamber. Once the pit senses it has hit the set temp the vacuum fan turns off until it drops below again. You can check out a more in-depth presentation at the website karubecue.com. My grandfather had an open pit he built from firebrick that he would burn wood down to coals then add smaller logs sporadically to keep a constant small fire going. His BBQ was outstanding and I would say that this really comes close to what he was able to do without the Phd in pit mastery.

I do use some lump to get things started but primarily split logs. I used chunks as seen in the pics but they burn so fast I was loading the box every 15 minutes. Now, I split my logs to about the width of a beer can (which I always have one open and handy to use a measuring tool) and cut them to half length.